Contact Us

Scholarships & Financial Aid

1000 E. University Ave, Dept. 3335

Knight Hall, Room 174

Laramie, WY 82071-3335

Phone: (307) 766-2116

Fax: (307) 766-3800

Email: finaid@uwyo.edu

Zoom: Virtual Office Hours

In-Person: Our Office Hours

Terms and Conditions

When you receive financial aid at the University of Wyoming (UW), there are important conditions for you to understand before you accept your awards. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) encourages you to confirm acknowledgment of the student financial aid terms and conditions each academic year. The terms and conditions apply to all student financial aid, regardless of source (e.g., federal, state, or institutional), including grants, scholarships, fellowships, loans, and work-study awards.

Financial aid awarded may be based upon merit and/or it will be based on financial need as determined from the information provided on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Financial aid awards are subject to adjustments or cancellations due to changes in law, regulations, appropriations, changes in your financial situation, verification, the discovery of data errors, changes in enrollment status, an over-award situation, or changes in residency, amongst others.

OSFA communicates with students by email. You are responsible for monitoring your @uwyo.edu account and checking it regularly. Additionally, you are responsible for managing your financial aid, so be sure to check WyoRecords frequently in terms of your aid and your student account.

The acceptance of awards and/or the receipt of an electronic or check refund indicates my acknowledgment of my awards' terms and conditions. Furthermore, such acceptance also indicates that I will certify that I will use any money under the federally assisted loans, grants, or work-study programs only for educational expenses.

FAFSA

Completion of the FAFSA must be completed each aid year, and it is required to determine if you are eligible to receive any federal aid and/or need-based aid.
There is a 21-month window for completing the FAFSA for each aid year. That means two aid years may be open concurrently, so be careful to choose the correct aid year when completing the FAFSA.
Federal law prohibits a student from receiving financial aid at two schools simultaneously.
The following is a helpful guide for completing the FAFSA: 8 Steps to Completing the FAFSA

Verification

The verification process is used to validate certain information you entered on your FAFSA. If you are selected for verification by the federal processor or by the university, you will be required to submit additional documentation to confirm the accuracy of the data on the FAFSA. If your FAFSA is corrected based on this information, your award(s) may be revised.
The verification process takes, on average, about two (2) weeks, but it can take longer during peak months and depending upon your specific situation.
Some of your financial aid will not be awarded/disbursed until verification has been completed.

Cost of Attendance (COA)

Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimate designed to help students determine what it may cost to attend UW for an academic year. COA, sometimes referred to as a “budget,” is not a final bill but an estimate of educational expenses.
COA usually represents the maximum amount of financial assistance a student can receive in an academic year.
If you enroll less than full-time, your COA will be reduced to reflect your enrollment status, and award amounts may be adjusted accordingly.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

SAP is defined as the successful completion of coursework toward an eligible certificate or degree. Federal regulations require OSFA to monitor the academic progress of students receiving federal financial aid.
SAP is evaluated before each disbursement period. Students with denied SAP appeals will be ineligible to receive federal financial aid and possibly some scholarships during that period.
SAP Frequently Asked Questions contains UW’s SAP requirements.

Enrollment Requirements

Eligibility for financial aid is based upon your FAFSA results and/or the following enrollment requirements:

Enrollment Requirements
12 Credit Hour Minimum	9 Credit Hour Minimum	6 Credit Hour Minimum (half-time status for graduate students is 4.5 hours)	Pro-rated for less than 12 Credit Hours
Undergraduate: Most institutional scholarships require FT undergraduate hours per semester	Graduate: Most institutional scholarships require FT graduate hours per semester (usually 9)	Federal loans	Federal Pell Grant
State Hathaway Scholarship (it can be received as graduate student, but undergraduate requirements are used). It can be received for <12 hours at a pro-rated amount, but a minimum of 6 hours is necessary to receive any funds.		Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)	State Hathaway Scholarship and Grant
		Federal Work Study

If you do not enroll in fall semester, your initial award(s) will be cancelled and you will be re-awarded if you enroll in the spring. This may result in a change of previously awarded aid funds, specifically some scholarships.

Required Attendance

Enrolling in courses is not enough to secure your financial aid; you must also attend the courses in which you enroll. OSFA must verify that students who receive a non-passing grade (any grade other than A, B, C, D, or S) in any class the student actually began attending. If you receive a non-passing grade in a course or no grade is reported, we will follow up with your professor to determine whether or not you attended and if your aid must be reduced.

Changes in Enrollment Status

Changes in your enrollment status (a change in residency status, dropping/withdrawing from courses, adding additional courses, doing an all-school withdrawal, or changing majors) could result in adjustments to financial aid. Such adjustments may result in you needing to repay those funds.
Federal regulations require that students who complete an all-school withdrawal may only keep the federal financial aid they have earned up to the withdrawal time.
If you are considering changes to your enrollment status, it is important to discuss your situation thoroughly with a financial aid advisor in our office before doing so.

Summer Semester

To be eligible for federal summer financial aid, you must complete the application after registering for summer courses.
Aid for the summer semester will be disbursed on the first day of your first class.

Sources of Financial Aid

Student Loans
- A loan is money you borrow and must pay back with interest.
- Several different loan types are available to students through the U.S. Department of Education.
- Loans amounts are limited by your year in school and could be less than the annual loan limit depending upon your other aid.
- If you accept a federal loan, you will need to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and entrance counseling. Likewise, if your parent accepts a federal PLUS loan on your behalf, they will need to complete an MPN.
- Loans must be accepted before the end of the academic term in which you are enrolled.
- Repayment starts six months after a student ceases to be enrolled at least half-time (6 credit hours). At that time, you will need to complete exit counseling.
Federal Work-Study (FWS)
- FWS is a need-based program that provides employment opportunities to eligible students (undergraduate and graduate) to help meet their college education costs.
- The award amount in WyoRecords is an estimate of potential earnings and is contingent upon available jobs and actual hours worked.
- FWS funds are not disbursed to your student account and do not reduce the amount you may owe UW. Instead, you receive a pay-check based on hours worked. Direct deposit is available based on the biweekly payroll calendar that can be located via: www.uwyo.edu/hr.
Pell Grants
- Pell Grants are need-based grants given to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not received a baccalaureate degree. The amount you can receive depends on your financial need, cost of attendance, full- or part-time status, and your plans to attend school for the full academic year or less.
- Federal law limits the amount of Pell that students can receive over their lifetime.
Scholarships
- Scholarships – UW has many institutional scholarships as both merit and need-based aid. Some scholarships require an application, and others are awarded to students who meet specific criteria established by the donor(s).
- Commitments – will be awarded as “Pending Fulfillment,” which means that the money UW has committed to you is a place-holder and will be fulfilled with individual scholarships. You will need to complete the WyoScholarships General Application to fulfill your commitment. You will be notified at your UW email when your commitment is fulfilled. Your commitment status will change to “Fulfilled” and be replaced with individual scholarships in an “Offered” status. Please make sure to follow the steps outlined in the email notification to ensure you accept and/or complete a thank you letter(s) to the donors who fulfilled your commitment.
- Hathaway Scholarship – this state scholarship is awarded by UW Admissions to eligible Wyoming high school graduates, and then it is administered by our office. If you have transferred from a Wyoming community college, you will need to provide a Hathaway Transfer Transcript to our office.
- Renewable Scholarships – some scholarships can be renewed if ongoing eligibility requirements are met. These requirements are reviewed following each spring semester.
- External Scholarships – these are funds you receive from outside sources that are processed and loaded into your student account through our office. These funds count towards your COA.
- WyoScholarships – most scholarship awarding occurs within WyoScholarships, our scholarship platform. You need to complete the general application each year, accept any scholarship that you have received, and complete a donor thank you letter if prompted.
- If you leave UW through transfer, graduation, or any other form of leave, you may not be entitled to the remaining eligibility of institutional aid/scholarships and will forfeit such remaining eligibility.

Completion of Title IV

On your financial aid checklist, you may complete your Title IV designation. This allows you to choose to have excess federal financial aid pay charges on your student account related to a prior term, future term, or charges other than tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board.

Disbursement of Financial Aid

Aid will generally be disbursed to your student account beginning 24 hours after the Drop Period ends each semester (fall and spring).
You are required to pay any remaining balance due on your student account each semester. Students with unpaid balances will have a hold placed on their account, precluding them from enrolling for the next semester.
If you received more aid than you have charges, you will receive a refund. The Student Financial Services' office processes these refunds either in electronic or check format, or held and applied to the following semester.
Following the refund period, any subsequent charges to your student account are your responsibility to pay.

Consortium Agreements

Students may combine credit hours between two or more institutions to maintain full-time status for financial aid. See our Consortium Agreement page for more details and the actual agreement.

Study Abroad

Students participating in study abroad programs should meet with our office to verify if there are any restrictions to receiving any of your financial aid for that semester.
Students who can demonstrate costs greater than COA, and provide documentation of those costs, can request a COA appeal for the impacted semester.
Study abroad students must be enrolled in a UW 4001 level study abroad course (an exchange program) with tuition billed by UW for institutional scholarships to pay. If you enroll in a non-exchange program, you will waive that semester of institutional scholarship eligibility.